News Byte: Lenovo's Newest Product Engineer is Ashton Kutcher

Before getting to the stated matter at hand at Google's YouTube broadcast center in Los Angeles yesterday—unveiling the company's new Yoga tablet entry—Lenovo CMO David Roman introduced Ashton Kutcher as the company's “newest product engineer.”

“Some people know me as an actor or the guy who has a million followers on Twitter or a tech investor. No one knows me as someone who plays it safe,” said Kutcher, who was introduced by Roman following a send-up video of his first-day orientation at company headquarters. “I like to work with a company that innovates, that has the courage not to be me-too. And the evidence of that is this tablet.”

The Yoga features a rounded-hinge end that distinguishes it from its flat tablet competitors, but which gives it built-in functionality to be placed in “tilt” and “stand” positions. The company is also hyping its 18-hour battery life. A 10-inch version sells for $299 and an 8-inch for $249.

Kutcher will work with the company's engineering teams around the world to develop and market the Yoga line of tablets by providing input and decision-making into design, specifications, software, and usage scenarios.

Roman noted that while Lenovo recently claimed the title as the world's largest sellers of personal computers, it last year sold more smartphones and tablets than PCs. He expressed the company's desire to become a player as a tablet marketer with the Yoga.

“The tablet is the same physical format today as when it was first introduced,” Roman said. "The shape hasn't changed until now."

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